The stress-induced mechanisms that cause our brain to produce feelings of fear in the absence of threats — such as in PTSD — have been mostly a mystery. Now, neurobiologists have identified the changes in brain biochemistry and mapped the neural circuitry that cause generalized fear experiences.
Tag: Stress
Allostatic load is higher in women in long-term couples
Chronic stress that develops over decades in long-term couples does not have the same effect on men as on women: the latter is more likely to display negative physiological markers than their spouse, according to a study published in the scientific journal Psychosomatic Medicine .
Numbers do not add up for maths homework
Supporting kids with maths homework is a common afterschool activity. But beyond the basics, new curricula and teaching strategies are making it harder for parents to help and it’s taking a serious toll on children’s confidence and learning.
Study Shows An Anti-Racist School Program Didn’t Stress Out Kids
A new study of how high school students respond to a program designed to increase the frequency and quality of conversations about race in school finds that the anti-racist intervention did not cause stress or feelings of alienation among study participants.
It’s Not Just You: Young People Look, Feel Older When They’re Stressed
A new study finds younger adults look and feel older on stressful days – but only on days when they also feel they have relatively less control over their own lives.
Chronic stress spreads cancer … here’s how
Stress is inevitable. But too much of it can be terrible for our health. Chronic stress can increase our risk for heart disease and strokes. It may also help cancer spread. How this works has remained a mystery—a challenge for cancer care.
Burnout: identifying people at risk
It is not uncommon for people to “hit the wall” at work and experience burnout for short or long periods of time.
Uni sector scores poor report card when it comes to workplace health
A large survey of Australian university employees over the past four years paints a bleak picture, with almost 73% of professionals and academics reporting poor work environments in 2023.
Global Taskforce of Scientists Develop a Unifying Framework for the Human Affectome
Work will facilitate interdisciplinary study of feelings, emotions, moods, and other sensory experiences, as well as the development of treatments for mental disorders.
Music may bring health benefits for older adults, poll suggests
Three-quarters of people age 50 to 80 say music helps them relieve stress or relax and 65% say it helps their mental health or mood, according to the new results from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging. Meanwhile, 60% say they get energized or motivated by music.
Stress in America 2023: A nation grappling with psychological impacts of collective trauma
U.S. society appears to be experiencing the psychological impacts of a collective trauma in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results of a new survey by the American Psychological Association. Psychologists warn that a superficial characterization of life being “back to normal” is obscuring the post-traumatic effects on mental and physical health.
Sleep and stress give clues to understanding epileptic seizures – study
Sleeping patterns and stress hormones could be the key to understanding how and when people with epilepsy are likely to experience seizures, a new study reveals.
Should fathers be screened for postpartum depression?
Pilot study shows 30% of dads screened had postpartum depression
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Honored by American Medical Association for Ongoing Commitment to Physician Well-being
For the third time, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has earned the American Medical Association (AMA) Joy in Medicine™ distinction.
Joint IAFNS-USDA Webinar Series Tackles Gut Health, Immune Function
Collaborative webinars to focus on key scientific trends and findings related to gut microbiome and nutrition, and the interaction of diet, stress and immune function.
Gene links exercise endurance, cold tolerance and cellular maintenance in flies
As the days get shorter and chillier in the northern hemisphere, those who choose to work out in the mornings might find it harder to get up and running. A study in PNAS identifies a protein that, when missing, makes exercising in the cold that much harder—that is, at least in fruit flies.
Worries about artificial intelligence, surveillance at work may be connected to poor mental health
Employees’ concerns about the use of artificial intelligence and monitoring technologies in the workplace may be negatively related to their psychological well-being and lead them to feel less valued, according to a survey from the American Psychological Association.
It’s not just humans: City life is stressful for coyotes, too
Though cars are the biggest threat to coyotes taking up residence in U.S. cities, a new study suggests urban living poses a different kind of hazard to coyote health – in the form of chronic stress.
Nurses’ intentions to quit increased during the pandemic despite their high resilience
Nurses’ intentions to leave nursing increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, a recent study from the University of Eastern Finland shows. Yet, nurses estimated their resilience to be high.
These Eight Habits Could Lengthen Your Life by Decades
A new study involving over 700,000 U.S. veterans reports that people who adopt eight healthy lifestyle habits by middle age can expect to live substantially longer than those with few or none of these habits.
“Well-being index” predicts population cardiovascular risk
Well-being index (WBI) is a comprehensive measure of an individual’s satisfaction with their career, social and community relationships, finances and health. Researchers compared results from a Gallup national WBI survey to CDC cardiac death data, and found a nearly 14%…
Chula Researchers Find Chemicals in Sweat That Can Reveal “Extreme Stress and Depression” and Successfully Test Firefighters’ Mental Health for the First Time!
A team of researchers from the Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, have found chemicals in sweat that indicate high stress and depression. The pilot study of firefighters in Bangkok yielded the results with 90% accuracy, so they are poised to conduct mental health screening in other high-stress, and high-risk groups of professions hoping to reduce mental health problems and violence in society.
Do Children Inherit Parents’ Stressful Experiences?
Scientists are discovering that a parent’s experiences can lead to changes in gene expression that are encoded in the sperm or egg and passed to offspring. In other words, there is a way in which offspring inherit the experiences of their parents. This is different than inheriting genes for brown or blue eyes. It’s more like inheriting genes that are switched on or off for the purpose of being better adapted to a particular environment.
Pandemic Alcohol Use Linked to Nervous System Disruption in Pregnant and Postpartum Women, Hinting at Novel Clinical Biomarker and Intervention Potential
Increased alcohol use among pregnant and postpartum women during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with autonomic nervous system dysregulation, known to negatively affect resilience to change and further exacerbate the risk of stress-related mental health disorders and substance use, a new study suggests. The findings, although preliminary, underline the potential for a new clinical biomarker and novel personalized mobile health apps in facilitating treatment interventions. Previous research linked the pandemic to increased stress levels and drinking, including in pregnant and postpartum women. Alcohol use, and stress-related conditions such as depression and anxiety, are associated with dysregulation in the feedback loop between the body and the brain. This process involves the peripheral autonomic nervous system, which regulates the heartbeat. Healthy, resilient people tend to have higher heart rate variability than people with stress and substance use disorders. Heart rate variab
Binge Drinking and Night Shift Work Linked to Greater Likelihood of COVID Infection in Nurses
Working the night shift or binge drinking may double the risk of COVID-19 infection, according to a study of nurses published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. Both alcohol misuse and night shift work have been shown to impact sleep and promote inflammation in the body, which has been linked to COVID disease severity. The findings from this study strongly suggest that alcohol and circadian misalignment contribute to the development of COVID disease in people exposed to the virus.
Caffeine Treatment in Newborn Rats Reduces Stress Hormone Levels
Article title: Periodic hypoxia, intermittent pain and caffeine in male and female neonatal rats: corticosterone, insulin resistance and hepatic gene expression Authors: Ashley L. Gehrand, Jonathan M. Phillips, Hershel Raff From the authors: “In our study, we observed a significant…
At-home yoga reduces anxiety, improves short-term memory
Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology designed a virtual eight-week moderate-intensity yoga program geared specifically toward full-time working adults experiencing symptoms of stress. The trial, which appeared in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine, led participants through three self-paced remote workouts each week, assessed levels of stress and anxiety in addition to executive functioning. The results showed overall decreases in stress and anxiety.
How does stress from everyday life impact heart health?
UC Davis Health scientists have received a grant from the American Heart Association to study the effects of chronic stress on cardiovascular disease in underserved populations.
Gene in the brain can put brakes on anxiety, discover scientists
A gene in the brain driving anxiety symptoms has been identified by an international team of scientists. Critically, modification of the gene is shown to reduce anxiety levels, offering an exciting novel drug target for anxiety disorders. The discovery, led by researchers at the Universities of Bristol and Exeter, is published online today [25 April] in Nature Communications.
Keys to women’s resilience after 80: more education, less stress
Having a four-year college degree and a low level of stress are strongly linked to psychological resilience in American women aged 80 and older, a new study suggests.
Injury Prevention Tips from UC San Diego Health Experts during National Basketball Tournament
While many are tuning in to watch the NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball tournament this weekend, cheering on their favorite team to win, accepting an unexpected loss or even inspired to hit the basketball court themselves, experts from UC San…
Students who played sports before the pandemic did better during lockdowns
A history of participating in campus recreational sports can offset stress and contribute to academic competence even during high-stress periods such as a pandemic lockdown, shows a new study.
For stressed-out grad students, mindfulness makes big difference
While recent studies and polls indicate the nation is in the midst of a mental health crisis, the situation in academia is even more grim: Within the high-stress, high-pressure, often socially isolated world of advanced education, graduate students experience depression and anxiety at six times the rate of the general population.
Worrying About Election Stress Can Harm Your Health – Here’s What You Can Do About It
New research finds that simply anticipating stress related to political elections causes adverse physical health effects. However, the study also finds there is something people can do to mitigate those negative health effects.
Prompt Treatment for Functional Neurological Disorder in Children Is Highly Effective
Treatment is scarce for functional neurological disorder (FND), which requires a multidisciplinary approach. A special report published in the March/April issue of Harvard Review of Psychiatry (HRP) aims to show clinicians and institutions around the world what is needed to establish effective community treatment programs for FND, as well as hospital inpatient and outpatient interventions, in their own health care settings. HRP is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Stress Gene Dysregulation Found in Kids After Injury from Abuse vs. Accident
Epigenetic changes in the regulation of a key gene in the body’s stress response system were detected in babies and young children with abusive injuries, as opposed to accidental, according to a pilot study published in the journal Pediatric Research.
Watch weekend tech as teens settle into school
We all know that teenagers love their sleep. But if your teen is a regular night owl, then they could be overdosing on technology at the expense of their sleep, according to new research from the University of South Australia.
Early-life stress can disrupt maturation of brain’s reward circuits, promoting disorders
Irvine, Calif., Feb. 27, 2023 — A new brain connection discovered by University of California, Irvine researchers can explain how early-life stress and adversity trigger disrupted operation of the brain’s reward circuit, offering a new therapeutic target for treating mental illness. Impaired function of this circuit is thought to underlie several major disorders, such as depression, substance abuse and excessive risk-taking.
Exercise more effective than medicines to manage mental health
University of South Australia researchers are calling for exercise to be a mainstay approach for managing depression as a new study shows that physical activity is 1.5 times more effective than counselling or the leading medications.
Learn CPR and Lower Your Stress: Mount Sinai Cardiologists Emphasize Their Importance During American Heart Month
Doctors warn about lack of knowledge of administering CPR, especially in high-risk groups, and the rise of stress-related heart issues
Support from others in stressful times can ease impact of genetic depression risk, study suggests
Reaching out to support a person when they’re under stress is always a good idea. But a new study suggests that support could be especially important for someone whose genetic makeup makes them more likely to develop depression.
How better planning, behavior regulation may lead to eating less fat
New research suggests coaching overweight or obese pregnant women to improve their ability to plan and make progress toward goals may be key to helping them lower the amount of fat in their diet.
Can (Holiday) Stress Cause a Heart Attack?
Health article about how the holidays can add stress to your life, and left unchecked, the stress and anxiety can be detrimental to physical and mental health, including heart health.
Kids Get Holiday Stress, Too
A mental health expert at Rutgers discusses how adults can help children from feeling overwhelmed
Volatile pay for gig workers linked to health problems
Gig workers, waiters, salespeople and others who rely on fluctuating income may be paying for wage volatility with their health, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
Expert can discuss managing holiday stress at work
Stephen Courtright, a professor of management and entrepreneurship at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, can discuss how to manage holiday stress at work. For many, the stress of holiday planning can make for a difficult workplace, especially…
Long COVID patients and those with other illnesses experience similar, negative lingering effects during the pandemic
Long COVID patients can experience many of the same lingering negative effects on their physical, mental, and social well-being as those experienced by people who become ill with other, non-COVID illnesses.
Novel Device Measures Nerve Activity That May Help Treatment Sepsis and PTSD
Engineers and physicians at UC San Diego have developed a device to non-invasively measure cervical nerve activity in humans, a new tool they say could potentially inform and improve treatments for patients with sepsis or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Stem Cell Study Reveals How Neurons From PTSD Patients React to Stress
Stem cell-derived neurons from combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) react differently to a stress hormone than those from veterans without PTSD, a finding that could provide insights into how genetics can make someone more susceptible to developing PTSD following trauma exposure.
More than a quarter of U.S. adults say they’re so stressed they can’t function
Americans are struggling with multiple external stressors that are out of their personal control, with 27% reporting that most days they are so stressed they cannot function, according to a poll conducted for the American Psychological Association.